STAMFORD, Conn. — Alan Kalter, the quirky, red-headed announcer for David Letterman for two decades who frequently appeared in the show’s comedy bits, has died. He was 78.

Kalter died Monday at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut with his wife, Peggy, and their two daughters at his side, said Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of Temple Beth El, the synagogue Kalter attended. The cause of death was not announced.

“Whatever else, we always had the best announcer in television,” Letterman said in a statement. “Wonderful voice and eagerness to play a goofy character of himself. Did I mention he could sing? Yes he could. He enthusiastically did it all. A very sad day, but many great memories.”

Kalter was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 21, 1943. Nicknamed “Big Red” for his hair, he provided the opening introductions on the “Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS from September 1995 until Letterman’s last episode on May 20, 2015.

As Letterman would walk and run onto the stage, Kalter would introduce him with a sarcastic flair as “the king of unsocial media,” “nocturnal rainforest mammal” and other monikers.